“Dear Steve,
Myself and my wife are both out of college. I went to a private university, big mistake as my mother tried to tell me, and now between the two of us we are about $191,000 in debt to student loans.
Thanks to my grandmother, when she passed away she left me enough to pay off any credit card debt we had. I make $40,000 a yr and she makes about $21,000 a yr. We just moved to Virginia for me to get this job. The pay will go up over the next few years as I move up but right now we are behind on almost all the payments.
We pay $1535 a month in rent. I know it is a house payment but it is normal rent around here. We don’t have cable or internet. It is a choice we made to not have another bill. Our car insurance runs us $120 a month and the student loans payments are over $2000 a month.
Our bank account ends every two weeks in the hole and it feels like it is impossible to get ahead. We talked about bankruptcy but it is not an option with student loans. I need to go back to school for about 2 to 3 semesters to finish my degree and then I would be making more.
Problem is the company will reimburse me AFTER I pay for it… Any advice in the right direction would be helpful and if you do hear about any of the wonderful FREE gov funds do please send some my way. Thank you for your time and god bless you for the work you do!
Nothing specific just any good advice from someone who has been there before me.
Rob”
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where do I sign up? as students we dont have many options when it comes to students loans private or federal.
Hi Steve, well I have my BS in Criminal Justice and my MBA. I owe private and federal student loans. I always wanted to go to law schools what would be my better way to do that? Scholarship, grants or another loan if I qualify for one?
–Donna
Hi Steve, well I have my BS in Criminal Justice and my MBA. I owe private and federal student loans. I always wanted to go to law schools what would be my better way to do that? Scholarship, grants or another loan if I qualify for one?
–Donna
join me in writing the president, congressman and senators for a student loan bailout or you will be paying double and for the rest of your life
where do I sign up? as students we dont have many options when it comes to students loans private or federal.
Dear Rob,
Sounds like a real tight spot. Good for you for sacrificing cable. First I would talk to your lender(s) for your student loans and see if they can work out a better payment option (perhaps you have already). Next make sure you are not having too much in taxes taken out each pay because you are running a tight budget. I am guessing you have about $3,500 per month to work with in total, which obviously will not work. Your two quickest choices are to take a second job (one or both of you) or to get out of your lease, although you’ll have to move at least 30-60 minutes further from your job I realize. I would stall going back to school for about one year as you make some tough sacrifices to get your payments lower on student loans, or increase your income(s).
Good luck,
Bill Pratt
Author of The Graduate’s Guide to Life and Money
and Extra Credit: The 7 Things Every College Student Needs to Know About Credit, Debt & Ca$h
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